


soiled shots, clean shots.

by eymelee



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, There's some plot if you squint, character study sorta, i love these two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 23:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19037833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eymelee/pseuds/eymelee
Summary: Victory brings confidence, failure ferries experience - a peek at Ajay and Alexander.





	soiled shots, clean shots.

 

The recurring Apex champions Caustic and Lifeline were, at first glance, very similar. Callous outside the battle, ruthless during it and unbeatable when paired with one another. They proved countless times their capability of taking down entire teams to claim victory for themselves, even when lacking a third party member - both of them highly favoring this style of fighting, albeit for different reasons. 

 

Caustic, codenamed “Toxic Trapper”, was notorious for rarely pairing with anyone who slowed him or his research down, as the primary objective of his engagement with the Apex championship was to collect as much concrete and relevant data as possible. For this purpose he’d often demand longer match times, which in turn would require teammates who had more than a handful of working neurons. 

 

Caustic preferred Lifeline, or Ajay - as she had insisted on being called - as a teammate for this reason in particular.

 

 _“Feels like I ain’t a line to life anymore. Lately, everything I do in a battle leads towards ruination,”_ she had shared once. _"Not that I am ruined"._

 

The combat medic was splendidly cunning as the games progressed, taking down enemies left and right and coming up with winning strategies as bullets whirred past her head. Caustic thought her playstyle was extremely useful for his research. Outside of battle, Ajay often took interest in his work, not only genuinely inquiring and making suggestions to it, but by also giving him that tiny scientific push whenever he was at a standstill, often leading him to new interesting conclusions. He’d always appreciate her input.

 

 _“We could insert your toxins in D.O.C. and have it bait people, Noxi!”_ was one of her ideas - unfortunately turned down after reluctant consideration. 

 

She knew who he was; had once been. Caustic hadn't told her per se, but Ajay was witty so she put two and two together. In order to ‘keep it a secret,’ the combat medic had given him plenty of nicknames to go by: Alex, Noxi, Noxander, highly inconspicuous code names she would excessively use to call him. She had never questioned it though, how he came to be the deadly toxic scientist, what exactly had happened before he vanished. Ajay never took on more than she could handle, that much Caustic knew, but regardless of that they had been developing a shaky yet steadying companionship along the way.

 

Countless hours spent in the labs, working together to perfect their personal equipment and strategize. 

 

Building towards each other on snarky remarks; _'Ajay, going in close combat with a Triple Take won't work.'_

 

Paving their own way; guarding each other's back when holding down the deadly Bunker, just them and the strong relationship they built upon trust.

 

And in the end, what they built wasn't as shaky as he had thought. He admits that he had his doubts, thought this whole ordeal would drag him down later and yet, he found that he was willing to hold onto this alliance for a little longer.

 

-

 

Alexander covers for her. 

 

Since running a squad of two, Ajay has been more daring in the field as it was required to balance their team against full 3-man ones. It is usually effective, with some exceptions and this time is one of such exceptions. She made a mistake, calculated her trajectory ineffectively and it ultimately led to getting herself caught while en route to rendezvous with Caustic. The combat medic is rarely put in these situations, where she screws up so badly it might cost them the game. Most of times it happens when she's paired with ‘overzealous’ teammates such as Octavio, her old friend oscillating between either being first or dragging his bionic feet away from last place. And usually, it's her who has to pick up the pieces and attempt to glue them together into something that resembles a team. 

 

That is not her role this round, though. Ajay pulled the trigger too eagerly and the shot backfired spectacularly. Now she is waiting, downed in murky water under a house, silently cursing herself. She follows Caustic's GPS position on the radio system attached on her arm, the scientist deep in the Bunker, his gun continuously going off. He's not saying anything on his comm and Ajay can imagine the sort of complete-focus situation he is in. His shield status drops dangerously low, bullets reloading at an alarming rate and Ajay foresees their end. She does wish that Alexander would say something as her eyelids shut and she starts fading into unconsciousness.

 

The waking is the hardest. There is medical staff around her, an oxygen mask slipped on and a single needle breaking into her ragged skin. She is given a serum. 

 

Ajay has been once told about this serum after inquiring about it. _‘The best researchers we have worked on it,’_ a medical member had said. Though truthfully, since a vast majority of the Apex personnel members were mercs and defectors of the Remnant Fleet, Ajay is not sure ‘best’ is the word to describe them.

 

 _“They are Blisk’s science dogs, Ajay,”_ Alexander confessed during one of their research breaks. _“Shadier than I have ever been.”_

 

 _“Somehow, that’s hard to imagine,”_ she countered as they tried to figure out what exactly goes into the injection during their pastime, tossing equations and hypotheses around. 

 

As soon as she is given it, the combat medic is wide awake, feeling as if she had one too many doses of caffeine. The substance combination in it even rivals the classified one of the Solar Cola and Ajay can only speculate how many types of hormones it contains or what sort of long-term effects it might have. Not that it matters really, she has signed plenty of affidavits before joining the Apex Legends Tournament. 

 

Her recovery is quickly interrupted. “Your squad member is moving towards a respawn beacon,” a black-clad personnel member approached her bed. Ajay’s eyebrows rise and she has to blink the blurriness in her eyes a couple of times before sitting up and heading to the drop carrier. In case they still have a shot at winning, the medic stretches and checks her equipment thoroughly. She screwed up once, she won’t let anything else drag her down this time, her resolution forms. 

 

Nox has done it. Checking her comm pad, she can see her solo teammate currently sitting at 4 takedowns and one incoming respawn. That’s her cue for reentering the stage. The drop ship positions itself and Ajay is off into a free fall.

 

She drops with a cheer and takes in her surroundings: one open supply bin containing a level one armor - better than nothing; a couple of misfitting attachments and a fully equipped Triple Take with the appropriate ammo next to it. Ajay eagerly offers her thanks, blood rushing. She checks for Alexander, finding him barricaded into a river house, gas traps activated inside. That buys her enough time. Two enemies are taking refugee on the roof of said building, no cover. 

 

“You got a clean shot, Ajay,” Caustic’s voice sounds from the comm. She wets her lips, the inevitable is laying out in front of her. 

 

She takes the shots cleanly this time. One shot, one shield gone. Second shot, one man down. Delayed bullets are fired at her but they miss; another shot and the other’s body shield breaks. The forth shot never comes. There is a man feeding bullets to their last standing enemy, claiming victory once again, and that man is Alexander Nox. 

 

“You are such a show-off,” Ajay peers at him through the scope, watching Caustic covered in chemicals and soot. She cannot see his face due to the gas mask but, uncharacteristically, he flashes her a thumbs-up. 

 

Ajay lifts her chin and offers one back.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for ExasperantMadman for beta testing this <3
> 
> Let me know what you think! (bonus points if you spot the book ref)


End file.
